Forget digital fingerprints, iris recognition and voice identification, the next big thing in biometrics could be your knobbly knees, researchers have claimed.

A US claims that our kneecaps are unique, and could provide a foolproof way to identify us at airports and other security checkpoints.

The team claim initial tests of the system, which takes an MRI scan of the kneecap, were 93% accurate.

A line up for a knobbly knees competition. Now researchers believe our kneecaps could one day replace iris and voice recognition systems for identifying us at airports and offices

HOW IT WOULD WORK

Researchers hope to develop a knee-height MRI scanner fast enough to take pictures of every individual's kneecap as they pass it.

This unique scan would then be compared against their scan on record to prove their identity.

Initial tests of the system have already proved 93% accurate.

Computer scientist Lior Shamir of Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan, say the system could be perfect for to quickly register and identify people in a moving queue as they approach passport control at airports, or walk through the entrance to an office.

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The team believe their system is also far harder to fool without major surgery.

'Deceptive manipulation requires an
invasive and complicated medical procedure, and therefore it is more
resistant to spoofing compared to methods such as face, fingerprints, or
iris,' said Mr Shamir.

The team even believe that a common punishment in the criminal world, shattered kneecaps, would still 'likely to be unique
to the victim'.

Shamir has tested the approach and achieved accuracy of around 93 percent, this coupled with other factors such as possession of the correct passport, being in the right place at the right time or tied to other biometrics such as iris recognition and signature analysis could be used to prevent deception and fraud.

MRI scans of a knee. Researchers say the unique shape of our kneecaps could help identify us

Contact lenses can be used to dupe iris recognition systems, passports can be forged.

MRI scanning avoids health risk of scanning with ionizing radiation, such as X-rays, and would also avoid some of the privacy issues that have arisen with terahertz scanners that can 'see' beneath a person's clothing, the researchers say.

Mr shamir is now working on the logistical issues of placing knee-high MRI scanners in airports.

'There is a distinct problem with the implementation of MRI scanning in a security setting in that MRI scanners are very large machines and take a long time to acquire an image of even a small body part such as the kneecap,' the researchers admit.

However, developments in MRI technology are fast moving, they claim, and it is likely that within the medium term more portable and faster equipment will emerge that could fulfill the security role.

'Further studies will develop the concept of internal biometrics, and will lead to automatic identification methods that are highly resistant to spoofing,' concludes Shamir.

MRI scans of a knee - experts say each person's kneecap is unique, and could be used to identify us